Manchester United told to poach Arsenal target Karim Benzema in Real Madrid David de Gea swap deal

Harry Redknapp has told Manchester United to take full advantage of Real Madrid's pursuit of David de Gea and grab the services of Arsenal target Karim Benzema in a swap deal with the La Liga giants.

The France international striker has been heavily linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium in recent weeks, with speculation intensifying after the Gunners drew a blank in the Premier League opening weekend 2-0 defeat against West Ham.

The Daily Mail has reported that Arsenal's board has given Arsene Wenger the green light to make a club-record bid of £45m ($70.1m) to lure the Real Madrid number 9 to London, similar to previous summer mercato marquee signings of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez.

But former Spurs, Southampton and QPR gaffer Redknapp has urged United to use Real Madrid's long-running chase for De Gea to nab the Arsenal target to address the lack of effectiveness in Louis van Gaal's attack following the departures of Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie.

The BBC reported on 11 August that despite De Gea being shelved for the match against Tottenham Hotspur, United still expect him to stay at Old Trafford this season. It is believed they will only let him go if they can grab either a a world-record fee for a goalkeeper or if Sergio Ramos joins in part exchange.

But with Ramos seemingly set to stay at Real Madrid having agreed terms on a new deal, Redknapp wrote on Kicca: "It looks like De Gea is definitely going.

"Who's going to come in? Will they try and get someone else coming the other way from Real Madrid, could it be Benzema? It will be interesting to see.

"I could see a deal there for somebody, be it Benzema or Ramos? But the good thing for United is that they hold the aces, Van Gaal will want somebody at Real to move in the opposite direction, I'm sure. I'm sure there's a bit of poker playing at the moment."

Redknapp praised United's performance to beat Spurs 1-0, but says that Van Gaal's side's performance showed they still lack pace upfront.

"Manchester United had no pace in their team on Saturday. Sure, they were solid, but they weren't spectacular and it wasn't the sort of free-flowing football you have expected from United over the years," he added.

"But it was a solid performance, three points against a top-six team and a clean sheet, and you can't ask for more than that.

"I thought the right-back Matteo Darmian played well and had a good debut, he'll do well for many years. Luke Shaw looked like he was somewhere close to what he was at Southampton and should have a good season if he stays injury free. They were the two big pluses and the goalkeeper Sergio Romero did well."